RIP Robert Sherman

Robert Sherman, the elder of the Sherman Brothers songwriting duo so closely associated with Walt Disney Company films, television and theme park attractions, has died in London at age 86.

With his younger brother Richard, Sherman wrote over 150 songs for Disney. These included what might be considered their magnum opus, the songs for 1964's Mary Poppins, for which they received an Academy Award for "Best Substantially Original Score" as well as one for Best Original Song ("Chim Chim-Cher-ee"). The Sherman Brothers wrote more original movie song scores than any other team in history.

They also wrote the songs for non-Disney films such as 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1972's Snoopy Come Home, 1973's Charlotte's Web and 1992's Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

Disney theme park fans know them for their work in that venue as well. They wrote "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" (for The Enchanted Tiki Room) "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and "The Best time of Your Life" (both used at different times for The Carousel of Progress), "Miracles From Molecules," (for Adventures Thru Inner Space), "One Little Spark" (for Epcot's Journey Into Imagination/Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment), and, most well-known, "It's a Small World (After All)" (for well, take a wild guess). And that's just a partial list of songs written for the parks; there were others, as well as adaptations of their film songs used in attractions.

The Sherman Brothers' story was captured on film by both men's sons in the 2009 documentary The Boys: the Sherman Brothers Story.

Speaking for myself, I really cannot successfully articulate  or really even completely comprehend, to be honest -- the impact the Sherman Brother's music has had on my life, and I'm not sure I'd even want to try. Mary Poppins is my favorite movie and Richard and Robert Sherman are a major factor in that. In fact, saying it is my favorite movie doesn't really do it justice for me; it goes beyond that. When I was younger it made me want to be and try to be a more understanding son. Now that I'm older and have boys of my own, it makes me want to be and try to be a better dad. And the two brothers who came up with words such as "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "fantasmagorical" are partly responsible.

Bon voyage, Robert Sherman. You won't be forgotten.

"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
shining at the end of every day "

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Robert Sherman, the elder of the Sherman Brothers songwriting duo so closely associated with Walt Disney Company films, television and theme park attractions, has died in London at age 86.

With his younger brother Richard, Sherman wrote over 150 songs for Disney. These included what might be considered their magnum opus, the songs for 1964's Mary Poppins, for which they received an Academy Award for "Best Substantially Original Score" as well as one for Best Original Song ("Chim Chim-Cher-ee"). The Sherman Brothers wrote more original movie song scores than any other team in history.

They also wrote the songs for non-Disney films such as 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1972's Snoopy Come Home, 1973's Charlotte's Web and 1992's Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

Disney theme park fans know them for their work in that venue as well. They wrote "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" (for The Enchanted Tiki Room) "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and "The Best time of Your Life" (both used at different times for The Carousel of Progress), "Miracles From Molecules," (for Adventures Thru Inner Space), "One Little Spark" (for Epcot's Journey Into Imagination/Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment), and, most well-known, "It's a Small World (After All)" (for well, take a wild guess). And that's just a partial list of songs written for the parks; there were others, as well as adaptations of their film songs used in attractions.

The Sherman Brothers' story was captured on film by both men's sons in the 2009 documentary The Boys: the Sherman Brothers Story.

Speaking for myself, I really cannot successfully articulate  or really even completely comprehend, to be honest -- the impact the Sherman Brother's music has had on my life, and I'm not sure I'd even want to try. Mary Poppins is my favorite movie and Richard and Robert Sherman are a major factor in that. In fact, saying it is my favorite movie doesn't really do it justice for me; it goes beyond that. When I was younger it made me want to be and try to be a more understanding son. Now that I'm older and have boys of my own, it makes me want to be and try to be a better dad. And the two brothers who came up with words such as "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "fantasmagorical" are partly responsible.

Bon voyage, Robert Sherman. You won't be forgotten.

"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
shining at the end of every day "

a great legend lost and one of my favourite songwriters, absolutely love their songs and in my opinion Richard And Robert are the ones that made Disney's early movies so unique my thought goes out to Roberts family and especially Richard

Any Sherman Bros. fans would be well advised to see "The Boys" documentary.
It is a superb bit of story-telling about Robert and Richard, bittersweet in every way. Probably PG-13 because of the emotional factor (no bad language or anything like that).